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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355585">should've seen that coming</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelordofshrimp/pseuds/thelordofshrimp'>thelordofshrimp</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Burns, Caffeine Addiction, Gay Panic, M/M, Medicine, Mental Breakdown, Minor Injuries, Nico is a Dork, Panic Attacks, Sickness, Sleep Deprivation, Stress, Tags May Change, Vomiting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:41:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355585</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelordofshrimp/pseuds/thelordofshrimp</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>being a good friend, older brother, head counselor, and camp healer is a lot for one person to handle, and it'll take its toll on even the most resilient.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nico di Angelo &amp; Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 01.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspiration drawn from a post by theboilingrock on tumblr and caption by persassy_annabeth_chase on instagram<br/>thanks as always to ElurosAthena, you are my muse</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nico had </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>slept enough last night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though, he admitted to himself, this would be impossible to handle even if he were completely well-rested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth, he elbowed his way back through the growing crowd and did his best to stand in between Mark and Holly, who had not broken eye contact for a full minute. The son of Ares and daughter of Nike both looked like they might murder anyone who interfered with whatever contest they had going on, which would explain why none of their siblings had lifted a finger to help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily, Nico wasn’t too afraid of death. However, he realized once he’d made his way into the no man’s land between the campers, the fifty pounds each of them had on him might complicate things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take a hike,” Mark growled, still refusing to tear his gaze away from Holly’s. “This isn’t your problem.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re making it my problem.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are doing no such thing,” Holly retorted. “Now get lost!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico rolled his eyes. Ever since Percy had gone off to college, Chiron had looked to him, the only Big Three kid to stay at Camp Half-Blood, as some kind of camp leader. Nico considered this Chiron’s worst decision to date, as about half of the campers were older than he was, taller than he was, or both, not to mention this would be his first full summer at camp. All in all, he was not the ideal candidate, but he figured he'd do the best he could until Chiron found someone better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Alright y'all, take it easy." Will's slight drawl, still noticeable after nearly a decade in New York, carried over the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Finally, someone better,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why can't </span>
  </em>
  <span>he</span>
  <em>
    <span> be in charge here?</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's the problem here?" Will asked, having made his way into the middle of the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> can't handle losing," Holly taunted. "Mark here is a massive baby who doesn't know to quit while he's behind." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shut up," Mark snarled. "You cheated."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not my fault you aren't physically fit enough to arm wrestle."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Both of you, cool it." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico had no idea how Will could remain so calm. War and victory together were a dangerous combination at the best of times, and the two campers' rage seemed to leak into the air around them, making him irritable at nothing in particular.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will put out a placating hand to both of them. "We'll do a rematch, maybe after Mark's arm has finished healing-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe if you did your job, we wouldn't need a rematch," Mark snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something flashed across Will's face, breaking the gentle look he'd been keeping up. Nico wasn't sure what it was, but he knew he didn't like it. As soon as it came, it went away, and the easygoing expression was back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I told you it needed another day, and you didn't listen." Will's voice was calm, almost compassionate, as if he were speaking to a misbehaving kindergartner instead of a burly, hotheaded waste of oxygen. "Now let's all take a break and get back to breakfast. You can continue your pissing match tomorrow."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, his words convinced both Mark and Holly to stand down, and the rest of the camp awkwardly shuffled back to the dining pavilion.*</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico caught up to Will halfway. "That was really impressive back there- what you did. I wish- um, I really- you're good at people." Gods of Olympus, why was talking so hard? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks," Will chuckled. "I had absolutely no idea what I was doing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, you did great," Nico assured, thankful that his mouth and brain had decided to reconnect. "You'd make a pretty good camp leader."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will let out a short, soft laugh and fell silent until they reached the tables, looking lost in thought.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 02.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>breakfast is a little more interesting than usual</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sitting by himself at the Hades table, Nico had a pretty good view of the rest of camp. The excitement of Mark and Holly’s fight had woken everyone up, and everyone but the two combatants seemed to be in good spirits. Nico shifted along the bench to get a better look at the Apollo cabin, then immediately kicked himself for it. One of Will's siblings had seen him move and had elbowed Will, who was already standing to leave and pouring a tiny bottle into a much larger mug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will caught Nico’s eye and smiled, raising his mug as if to toast. Nico's brain short-circuited and he couldn't bring himself to move. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cazzo</span>
  </em>
  <span>, why couldn't he behave like a normal human being? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as he'd shaken himself out of his stupor, Will appeared at the end of his table, mug in hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey, Death Boy." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I told you not to call me that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My apologies, Lord of Darkness." Will took an extravagant bow, then looked back up at Nico with a shit-eating grin. Nico felt his ears get hot and prayed to all the gods he still liked that his complexion and hair hid how red they had to be getting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will took a sip of his drink, gagged, and then proceeded to chug the entire thing. A visible shudder went down the length of his body as he set the mug down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What was in that?" Nico asked, not sure he wanted to know. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Mostly espresso." Will grimaced. "And a full bottle of this mortal drink called Five Hour Energy. Keeps you awake but you kind of wish you were dead the whole time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And why are you drinking this?" Nico was a little offended that espresso could be so thoroughly bastardized, but he did his best to move beyond that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Beats passing out with a scalpel in my hand." Will shrugged. "Capture the Flag was pretty brutal. I've got about six people I'm still working with." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Have you slept?" Nico's math skills were practically nonexistent, but Capture the Flag had been almost a week ago, and he figured that was a little too long to go without sleep, even by his own standards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nah," Will waved him off and raised his mug again. "That's what this is for. Speaking of which," he added, turning his words to the cup, "I would like another." The mug refilled with what had to be a half liter of espresso. Will took a sip, thankfully choosing not to chug this time, and frowned. "I hate coffee."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico doubted he could put together a response even if he had been clearheaded, which was impossible with Will so close. He hadn't considered just how much work Will put into keeping others healthy, and now that the healer was just a few feet in front of him, Nico could see the toll it was starting to take on him. Will looked- well, he looked awful. He was paler than usual, and his hair hung in his face like it couldn't be bothered to stand up. When he moved, he had none of the bounce that Nico usually attributed to perkiness but realized might just be caffeine, and his eyes were unfocused, nowhere close to their normal brilliant blue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you okay? You might want to take a break." Nico couldn't remember the last time he'd been this worried about someone who wasn't actively fighting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll be alright. I'll sleep when I'm dead," Will said, waving a hand dismissively. "Which, at this rate, might be later today."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico choked out a laugh, then quickly covered his mouth. "Aren't you supposed to be a doctor?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will raised an eyebrow. "And?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I dunno." Nico shrugged. "I didn't think doctors made that kind of joke." He didn't think </span>
  <em>
    <span>Will</span>
  </em>
  <span> made that kind of joke. The son of Apollo was always the most laid back and positive person in the room, and this other side of his personality unsettled Nico just enough to really intrigue him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The side of Will's mouth twitched, and he almost smiled. "I'm not your ordinary doctor." Straightening up, he asked, "Would you mind keeping me company? In the infirmary, I mean. It gets a little boring and I don't know how many more of these I can drink before my heart gives out."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, I'd love to</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Nico wanted, more than anything, to spend the day figuring out what Will Solace was about, and he almost convinced himself that was a normal thing to want. "I'm sorry," his mouth betrayed him, "Chiron wants me to run the lava climbing wall today."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That look flashed across Will's face again, but Nico still couldn't tell what it was. "Oh, Lord have mercy," he sighed. "I'm gonna have my hands full, aren't I?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico barely heard the second half of Will's sentence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is he- religious?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heavily religious campers were incredibly hard to come by, as being the child of a Greek god didn't tend to fit well with most monotheistic religions. There were still people who observed their own religions, but they were rare. Still, he couldn't rule anything out, and the fact that Will came from Texas did nothing but complicate things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"...come visit me if you have time, but if not I'll see you tonight." Nico tuned back in just as Will turned to leave, making his way to the infirmary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A hundred sentences filled Nico's throat, but none came out. He wanted to call out, to make sure Will was okay, to ask him what he believed- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ask him if he thinks I'm a monster. If he thinks I'm broken, confused, or worse. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico buried his head in his hands, Zephyros's words echoing through his head. Coming out to Percy and Annabeth was easy, impulsive. They were leaving, so it wouldn't have mattered either way. But Will- he'd still be around, impossible to ignore or avoid. No, it was better for everyone if Will didn't know.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>now i'm not SAYING comments will make me want to upload longer chapters with higher frequency, but i am heavily implying that comments will make me want to upload longer chapters with higher frequency :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 03.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>something has to give, and give it does.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everything was moving too fast and too slow at the same time.</span>
</p><p><em><span>Maybe the family-size espressos</span></em> <em><span>were a bad idea.</span></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, well</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will forced his hands to stop shaking as he entered the infirmary. As jittery and uncomfortable as he felt, he knew that ‘twitchy mess’ was not a good look for a healer. He’d been as nonchalant as possible around Nico,but the sleep deprivation really was getting to him, and he had to squint to make sure he wasn’t seeing double. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stepping behind a curtain, Will pulled his camp shirt off, changing into his scrubs. He’d started wearing them after having to throw out a few too many blood-soaked T-shirts, and he’d found that it helped him differentiate between his work as a healer and his social life.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Be honest, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the little voice in his head whispered as he went to work. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t have a social life any more. All you are is a healer, and you can’t even fix an arm properly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Will shook his head, hoping to wipe his mind like an Etch-a-Sketch. As cruel as it was, it was true. The conversation with Nico that morning had been his longest interaction in over a week. It had been ages since he’d just hung out with Lou Ellen or Cecil or anyone, even his own siblings. Every waking moment was spent doing counselor work or healer work or keeping up with his training, and full nights of sleep were few and far between. Will felt like a bundle of sticks, tied together with one tiny thread, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do if the thread broke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Will downed the last of his drink- </span>
  <em>
    <span>ew</span>
  </em>
  <span>- he stole a glance at the clock. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Noon already?</span>
  </em>
  <span> No wonder he didn't do anything but work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ibrahim, you’re good to go. Don’t try anything too strenuous for about twelve hours, but your hand should work like normal.” Will stood to leave and his head spun. Gripping the counter, he did his best to hide his discomfort until Ibrahim’s back was turned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lunch was a blur. Will hardly spoke between shoveling food down his throat and drinking enough water to drown a small herd of centaurs. The caffeine overload was finally getting to him, and his head was pounding. He returned to a blissfully empty infirmary and sat down, taking inventory so he could tell Chiron what supplies he’d need for the next week. As he wrote, Will felt himself start slouching, his head propped up on one hand, one eye barely open…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WILL!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will yelped and fell sideways out of his chair, hitting a drawer on his way down. Lily, one of the newer campers in Demeter, was standing over him, disheveled and covered in what Will hoped was mud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sleeping on the job? Really?” Lily’s hands were on her hips. She’d barely been at camp for six months, but she knew everyone’s name and spoke like they were peers, regardless of position or age. Will had heard a rumor that she’d once dissed Mr. D’s Hawaiian shirt, and he didn’t doubt it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What- ow- what happened?” Will got to his feet, not sure how long he’d been asleep. Red marks and a tingling sensation in his arm told him it had been a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The lava wall malfunctioned during our piggyback race.” Lily’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if she hadn’t just uttered the strangest sentence Will had heard all month. “Come on, everyone’s outside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Will hoped she was exaggerating. He wasn’t sure he’d stay conscious long enough to treat one camper, forget the entire camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, Lily’s flair for the dramatic was in full effect. The number of injured was nowhere near Camp Half-Blood’s hundred and fifteen. Still, at least twenty campers were outside the infirmary, with injuries ranging from scrapes to burns to broken bones. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh s-” Will bit back a string of colorful words. “Remind me how exactly all this happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We had a piggyback climbing race and the wall kind of collapsed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Will wasn’t sure he could manage more than one syllable without losing control and yelling at everyone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A piggyback race? On a wall covered in lava? No wonder we don’t live past twenty.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kayla caught his eye, waving frantically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will jogged over to his little sister, who had her hands on Billie Ng’s arm and her fidget necklace between her teeth. “Oh, yikes,” he muttered, drawing a sharp breath at the sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kayla looked up at him pleadingly, and Will put his own hand on Billie’s arm. “I’ve got this. You go help the people with minor injuries.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kayla gave Will a small smile, signed “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank  you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” and darted off to heal less drastic wounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will took a deep breath and hummed a hymn under his breath, going as fast as he could without stumbling over the Ancient Greek. Billie’s burns gradually faded, her skin knitting itself back together under his touch, but healing her was draining Will’s energy. He had no clue how he’d be able to heal everyone, even with his siblings’ help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, the children of Apollo weren’t alone in their efforts. All the Demeter kids with control over plants, which was almost all of them, pulled aloe vera and ginger from the ground, handing them off to other campers, who would apply the gel and root to first-degree burns. Clovis, Elisa, and the other Hypnos cabin members wandered back and forth around the campers with serious injuries, keeping them asleep to minimize their pain. Had he been any less rushed or any more awake, Will would have stopped to admire how well the camp worked together in stressful situations. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After what felt like hours, all but five of the climbing wall victims were mostly healed, bandaged, and sent on their way. The remaining five, still fortunately asleep, were brought into the infirmary, where they would likely spend the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I’ll be right there with them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Will thought dejectedly. He was not thrilled at the prospect of spending the night looking after Pollux, Nyssa, Gabrielle, Mark, and Ibrahim, who would be getting a stern lecture on what constituted ‘too strenuous’ when he woke up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A knock at the door, or what would have been a door, had the Big House had any since Travis and Connor’s genius idea to build a boat with them. Kayla and Austin stood at the entrance to the infirmary, looking sorely in need of a nap. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Need help?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kayla signed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will shook his head and waved them off. “I’m okay. Go eat.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m about to collapse, but I’d rather do that ten times over than make you go through this.</span>
  </em>
  <span> When he was alone- well, not alone, but the only conscious person in the room-, Will sank into a chair, not entirely confident he could get back up. His stomach growled, and Will suddenly regretted Kayla and Austin’s offer of help, realizing that they could have brought him dinner. Cheez-Whiz and celery sticks from the rec room would have to do until after the campfire, when Chiron would take over for him and he'd finally- </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>- get to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mark stirred, opening his eyes. "Ow, motherf-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shh! Don't wake the others up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What happened?" Mark's voice was still much louder than it needed to be, and Will had to resist the urge to stuff a gauze roll in his mouth. "Why am I here again?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The lava wall malfunctioned. You got burned pretty bad and messed up your leg, so you need to stay here for a while." Will was barely above a whisper, hoping Mark would follow his example. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His efforts were clearly in vain, as Mark sat up and said, even louder, "Bullshit. You could heal that. You're keeping me here on purpose. I bet Holly told you to keep me in here so she can tell everyone she beat me, didn't she?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time he'd finished talking, everyone else was awake, pulling at bandages and moving limbs that really should have stayed still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t-” Will began, but he stopped as he realized none of them were going to listen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long do we have to be in here for?” Pollux asked, probably not trying to get on Will’s nerves but succeeding regardless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve got projects I’m in the middle of that I can’t just leave,” Nyssa added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can</span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> sleep on these crusty old sheets.” Ibrahim was already trying to stand up and leave. “Cabin Ten is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much nicer than this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You- are staying- here.” Will practically shoved Ibrahim back onto his bed. “It’s not a five-star hotel, but none of you are in any shape to move, let alone go back to your cabins.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and whose fault is that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Doctor</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Mark chided. He seemed intent on needling Will as much as possible, like had a personal vendetta, though Will couldn’t think of a single thing he’d done to deserve that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s got a point, Will.” Gabrielle, who was, until that moment, one of Will’s favorite new campers, spoke up. “Paolo had eight broken ribs last week and he was perfectly fine in a few hours. You should be able to heal us in no time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was different. I had help.” The thread holding Will together pulled tighter and tighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So go get help.” Nyssa acted like that solution should have been obvious. “I don’t want to spend the night here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, if you can’t fix this on your own, go get people who can,” Mark sneered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” Will’s voice shook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on, Solace, if you could just do your job-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thread snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything Will had been suppressing for days, months, years, rose to the surface all at once. He felt feverish, like he’d suddenly been sunburned. When he looked down, his body almost looked like it was glowing, and he couldn’t tell if he was hallucinating or if it was real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>had it</span>
  </em>
  <span> with all of you acting like I don’t do absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything I can</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help you!” Tears pooled in Will’s eyes as he yelled. “I haven’t slept properly in a week because I’ve been up healing your ungrateful asses!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice got louder the longer he went on, louder than it normally could have, and he watched as the color drained from everyone else’s face. Pollux turned and vomited off the side of the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been running this infirmary, keeping you all alive since I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>twelve goddamn years old,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and what do I get for it? Nothing but stress, pain, and people telling me nothing I ever do is good enough!” Will backed towards the door. He needed to get out, to get away from everyone. As he passed Nyssa, Mark, and Ibrahim on his way out, each of them gagged or retched, and Will realized what he was doing. The angrier he got, the more health he sapped from them, weakening them. Un-healing them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d never felt so energized.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>literally getting 1 comment was all the boost I needed to finish writing this. y'all have so much power over me</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 04.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Will didn’t know how long he’d been running. Every part of him felt like it was burning, but he could’ve kept going for hours. He could hardly see, his vision almost completely clouded by the hallucinated glow that had yet to leave him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ground softened under his feet, and Will finally slowed down. Straining his eyes against the light— really, couldn’t his sleep deprivation be just a little less painful?— he made out the vague shape of a creek bed just a few feet in front of him. Will took a few more steps forward, glad he was in flip-flops as the water crept up around his feet. The creeks in the forests had an unfortunate habit of being a lot deeper than they looked, and Will had pulled one too many people out of neck-deep water to make that mistake himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Son of Apollo,” came a voice from somewhere off to Will’s left. He turned his head in the general direction of the sound, but couldn’t find its source. “You are a son of Apollo, aren’t you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will nodded. Whoever this was, they were not a camper. The voice sounded feminine, though that was never a guarantee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The speaker moved closer, and Will could almost see their figure. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Naiad.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was standing in the creek, one hand shielding her eyes. “Why are you so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>bright</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will laughed, feeling like his chest was caving in with each breath. “You can see that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good to know I’m not completely crazy, then.” The blood roared through Will’s ears. His heartbeat was almost deafening. “Not yet, at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>why?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Is this something all sons of Apollo can do?” The Naiad was standing just far enough that Will’s un-healing, if that was what it was, wasn’t affecting her. A sick part of Will wanted her to get closer, just to see if he could weaken her. That part normally stayed buried, but nothing inside Will was in its place anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not sure. I just found out I could,” Will responded. Standing still didn’t feel right. He wanted to run, to hit something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to release some of the wrath still boiling inside of him. Rage and 5 Hour Energy— a terrible combination.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without another word, the Naiad dropped into the creek, confirming for Will that it was much, much deeper than it looked. Will thought for a moment she’d simply decided he wasn’t worth her time, a common behavior of nymphs around him. Considering his father’s reputation and their uncanny resemblance, he couldn’t say he blamed them, though it did hurt at times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily— or perhaps unluckily—, Apollo wasn’t the source of Will’s problems this time. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>dracaena</span>
  </em>
  <span> emerged from the darkness, approaching Will at an impressive speed considering she had no feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Finally," Will growled, reaching for his pocket. "Something to do."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand closed around a scalpel- not the most impressive weapon, sure, but this one was made of Celestial Bronze, so it would work. Still mostly blind from the glow emanating from his skin, Will did his best to size up the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dracaena,</span>
  </em>
  <span> studying its movements. He let it get close, maybe too close, and it slowed, grabbing at what was probably its stomach in pain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will took a step towards the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dracaena</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was now completely within striking range, but the monster didn't seem to notice as it doubled over, blood leaking from its nostrils. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Will!" Lou Ellen shrieked from behind him. Her cry was enough to startle the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dracaena</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of its misery, and it took a swipe at Will's head, but it was too late. Will ducked, stepped up directly to the serpent woman's chest, and made two swift cuts with the scalpel in his hand, nailing the weakest points of her neck with a surgeon's accuracy. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>dracaena</span>
  </em>
  <span> burst into a cloud of dust, covering Will in the acrid smell of sulfur, and Will brushed the dust off of his face and hair before turning around to face his friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> want?" he snapped, scowling at her for what felt like the fist time since they'd met. Her expression told him it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We came to find you.” Cecil stepped out from behind Lou. “Austin said he saw you run off, and everyone in the infirmary was blowing chunks, and you- you’re kind of glowing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm.” Will wiped his scalpel off on his shirt and put it back into his pocket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, what happened?” Lou Ellen asked, approaching him. Will opened his mouth to warn her, but she stepped in too close. Her face twisted, and she retched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil ran to her, and Will stepped back. The small part of him that wasn’t seething with rage wanted nothing more than to comfort and heal her, but he knew he wouldn’t be stable enough to help anyone for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Having a reason not to help people was the worst relief he’d ever felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you do?” Cecil looked up at him, his arms around Lou Ellen, and Will saw actual anger in his friend’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, he would have backed down, apologized, done anything he could do to defuse the situation. But something had broken inside him, and seeing Cecil get mad made him feel trapped, attacked, like he’d knowingly done something wrong. “I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything. It’s not like I can control it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well what happened, then? What caused all this?” Lou Ellen straightened up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Will, we’re only trying to help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha!” Will knew she was serious, but her timing made him sick. “Too late for that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” The hurt on Lou Ellen’s face was a stake straight through Will’s heart, but he was numb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Haven’t you noticed?” Sweat ran into Will’s eyes, and he wondered if this damn glow would ever fade. “Mark, Nyssa, all of them, they all shit on me constantly because I’m not a miracle worker. They act like I don’t have limits, like I can fix their whole lives. Gods, just last week someone asked me if I could cure their three-year-old bum knee.” He was ranting at this point, voice getting louder as he paced back and forth. “I know I look like him, but I’m not my fucking dad! I’m just me, and I’m doing the best I can, but it never seems to be enough for you people!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will didn’t care if the entire camp heard him. He wanted them to know what they’d done, how much they had hurt him. He wanted them to feel a fraction of the exhaustion, pain, and anger he felt, and he wanted them to regret. “I lost Lee when I was eleven, I lost Michael when I was twelve, and ever since then everyone expects me to be just as good as both of them, as if I know what I’m doing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will stared down at his hands. “I do— I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can. I try to be as patient and laid-back as I can manage, I try to be there for my siblings because they need me, I help out around camp, and I’ve been running the infirmary since before I could even control my healing, back when all I could fix was paper cuts. I’ve learned so much since then…” His voice trailed off, and a sob caught in his throat. “But it was never enough. Nothing I ever do is </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever enough!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every muscle in Will’s body tensed as he screamed, letting out years of grief he’d been holding back to stay on top of life. Cecil and Lou Ellen stumbled backwards to avoid the shockwave of illness, and Will hoped they’d someday forgive him as his vision went white.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>apologies for the delay (does it count as a delay when i have no posting schedule? unclear)<br/>anywho, comments are always appreciated, i get so much joy from them :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 05.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There were many things wrong with the bonfire that night, the least of them being Travis Stoll’s ear-splitting operatic rendition of “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round The Mountain.” What Katie Gardner saw in him, Nico wasn’t sure, because trying not to visibly cringe was taking all of his concentration. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His suffering was quickly interrupted when he saw Austin Lake sprint across camp, coming to a stop behind Lou Ellen Blackstone and Cecil Markowitz. Austin </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> sprinted. The fastest Nico had ever seen him move was a confident stroll, but he’d crossed the volleyball fields in seconds. Something was definitely up. Whatever made Austin drop his casual gait must have been a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>big deal, because Lou Ellen and Cecil both dropped their s’mores in the dirt and stole away from the campfire. Austin looked like he was about to follow them, but someone shoved a tambourine into his hands and he sat, unable to escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What in Hades?” Nico muttered. Nobody besides him had seen Lou Ellen and Cecil leave, or if they had, they didn’t care. Campers sneaking away from the bonfire wasn’t technically allowed, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. Their expressions really didn't suggest the usual reasons for sneaking off, so Nico slid off the end of the bench and went after them, grateful for the cover of night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico had no trouble seeing in the dark, a useful skill considering his powers, but the two teenagers in front of him were nowhere near as lucky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Klutz," Lou Ellen hissed as Cecil tripped over his third twig in a single minute. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not my fault it's darker than Cabin Thirteen out here!" Annoying as the Hades cabin jokes were, they held some truth. A full remodeling was way overdue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Baby." Lou Ellen pulled something out of her bag. It looked like a really huge pencil, almost a foot long, but when she bent it, light spilled out with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Must be a Hecate thing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Nico thought, not sure how else a stick could make light. Lou Ellen shook her glowing stick until it filled with a pinkish glow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aided by the light, their pace picked up, and Nico had to speed up to avoid losing them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you think happened to him?" Cecil asked, and Nico was reminded that there was a real reason he'd followed these people into the woods at night. </span>
</p>
<p><em><span>Him?</span></em> <em><span>Who are they- oh.</span></em></p>
<p>
  <span>The pieces finally clicked, and Nico's stomach sank. Nothing, or rather no one, could make Austin run across camp in a suit, could be so important that Lou Ellen and Cecil would abandon both dessert and camp rules. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No one except Will, who'd been completely absent from both dinner and the campfire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Idiot!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Why hadn't Nico noticed? Will had skipped more than a few campfire sing-alongs to work, but he never missed meals. He'd chastised Nico for sleeping through breakfast- and occasionally lunch- so much that Nico had found himself fussing over Hazel's well-being when she'd admitted that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Praetor</span>
  </em>
  <span> duties had kept her from eating. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What Will could possibly be doing in the middle of the woods, alone, at night, Nico didn’t know. Apollo kids were almost all afraid of the dark, to the point where some of them wouldn’t walk back to their cabin from the campfire without three buddies and a flashlight. Whatever brought him out here had to be big, but it couldn’t be a monster, right? Austin would have announced that to the camp and everyone would be out searching, not just Will’s two best friends and Nico.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Friends…</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico wondered if he could count himself as Will’s friend. Sure, Will had been nice to him over the past few weeks, but he was nice to everyone, even people who weren’t remotely nice to him. What Will had said during the battle against Gaea, that there were people who wanted him around, that had stuck with him. It came to mind every time the son of Apollo walked into a room, every time he smiled, stirring Nico’s insides like a giant bowl of nervous soup, making him hope, even for a second that-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico’s foot caught on a rock and he hit the ground hard, landing in what had to be the loudest patch of grass ever grown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit, </span>
  <em>
    <span>run!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Cecil grabbed Lou Ellen’s hand and bolted away, not even bothering to look towards the noise. Nico got to his feet as quickly as he could, but by the time he was upright, the two had completely disappeared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Had to blow your cover, didn’t you,” he muttered to himself, thoroughly exasperated with how much the thought of Will had distracted him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If only he weren’t so kind… and good- looking.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh.” Nico kicked a twig and picked up his pace, following the direction Cecil and Lou Ellen had run off in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Someone shrieked up ahead of him, and Nico broke into a run, stealth be damned. Whoever it was, probably Lou Ellen, didn’t yell again, and Nico thought he’d lost them until something caught his eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Down by one of the rivers that cut through the forest, something was glowing. It looked like-, well, it looked like sunlight, as if someone had caught part of the sunset on its way past the horizon and stuck in in the middle of the woods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he crept towards the light, Nico heard a voice, gradually getting louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-I’m not my </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking dad!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will. That had to be Will talking. Dropping low behind a boulder, Nico was finally able to get a look at the scene. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will Solace looked like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>made</span>
  </em>
  <span> of light, like someone had poured it into his body. He was pacing, pulling at his hair, more agitated than Nico had ever seen him, and it looked like he was getting brighter the longer he talked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will halted and stared down at his hands. He was shaking, the light getting uncomfortable to look at in the pitch black. “I do— I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can. I try to be as patient and laid-back as I can manage, I try to be there for my siblings because they need me, I help out around camp, and I’ve been running the infirmary since before I could even control my healing, back when all I could fix was paper cuts.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico’s gut twisted as he thought back to all the times he’d wished Will could be in charge. Will was so overworked, he barely slept, and yet people- including Nico- wanted more from him. The guilt cut through to Nico’s core.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve learned so much since then, but it was never enough. Nothing I ever do is </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever enough!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Will’s roar pierced the air, and Nico jumped to his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Every cell in his body seemed to pull him forward. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Help.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will had dropped to his knees, head in his hands. He was screaming, gasping for air, sobbing like the weight of everything he’d ever been through- losing almost all of his siblings in the Battle of Manhattan, losing more to Gaea’s forces, and holding the lives of nearly every camper in his hands since before his voice dropped- was finally getting to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will’s pain reminded Nico of losing Bianca, of his journey through Tartarus, and he knew he could not let the son of Apollo do this alone. Not the way he had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Getting to Will was proving to be a problem. Every step took more energy than the last, like Nico’s own muscles were fighting against him, and the air suddenly felt abrasive, tearing at Nico’s throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nico!” Cecil had pulled Lou Ellen behind a tree. She looked green in the face, and he didn’t seem much better. “You can’t- he’s-” Cecil gagged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he doing this?” Nico asked, his voice suddenly hoarse and congested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cecil nodded, one hand firmly against his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, Gods</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Will was making everyone around him sick, and Nico wasn’t sure it was completely accidental. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pressed forward, falling to his hands and knees when he was about six feet away. Breathing was a chore now, every inhale coming with a coughing fit. It felt exactly like the whooping cough he’d caught as a child. He’d stayed in bed for nearly two weeks, struggling to get air, and he never felt like he truly recovered, still failing to catch his breath at times. This was incredibly uncomfortable proof that he hadn’t imagined it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico finally reached Will, brushing his arm as he pulled himself closer, chest heaving. Will’s skin was scalding hot, as if he’d sustained the world’s worst sunburn. Will opened his eyes, and Nico saw, horrified, that the light seemed to be concentrated there, completely obscuring the blue he was so used to with a blinding white that could </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> be easy to see out of. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Back off!” Will snapped. The light coming through his skin reflected off of the sweat and tears streaming down his face, making him look unearthly. His breaths were ragged as he pushed himself away. “Don’t try to tell me I’m doing enough. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m not doing enough. Nothing- nothing lasts, nobody will just </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay fixed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I keep failing.” Will looked down at his hands, face twisted in disgust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hypocrite,” Nico wheezed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nico?” Will’s head turned, and he squinted. The light must be completely obscuring his vision if Nico’s voice was the only thing that gave him away. “I- </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re-” Nico coughed. “You’re a hypocrite. You spend all your time calming people down, making me feel worthy, telling me I’m enough and that I have friends here, and then here you go claiming you failed.” Nico hadn’t noticed when he’d started talking about himself, but he didn’t feel like stopping. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico dragged himself to a sitting position, grabbing Will’s shirt for lack of a better hold. “Solace, if you really were a failure, I wouldn’t be here. Gods, half of camp wouldn’t be here. You are the reason most of us are still alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I can’t fix everything, and nothing I heal actually stays that way, and there were- there were people I couldn’t get to in time, people I just couldn’t fix, like Lee and Michael and Castor and Lilian and-” A choked sob cut Will’s feverish rambling short, and he shrank into himself, shaking. The light around him grew brighter, and Nico’s head throbbed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Acting almost entirely on instinct, Nico put his hands on the sides of Will’s head, bringing their foreheads together as they both gasped for air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to be okay. I’m right here.” Someone else had to be putting the words in Nico’s mouth, but he welcomed them. “Their deaths were not your fault, you hear me? Not. Your. Fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone had always said Nico seemed to drag shadows with him wherever he went, though most didn’t have the guts to say it to his face. As his breaths got shallower and more painful, Nico prayed that people’s comments were more truthful than mean, pulling as much shadow as he could manage in towards him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The darkness of the woods responded, creeping in to surround the pair, and for a moment they were almost as one- light and dark, sickness and death, so similar and so different all at once. The grass wilted around them, and Nico didn’t know whose fault that was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the balance had to be upset, and Will’s light was slowly snuffed like a dying candle, until all that was left was a faint glow hovering around the boy sobbing in his arms, broken and vulnerable. The sick air surrounding them evaporated, and Nico’s breaths came easier, the tightness in his lungs fading as quickly as it had come. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will gripped the back of Nico’s shirt, his face buried in the crook of Nico’s neck, and Nico held on to him like a life preserver, afraid that if either of them were to let go, the other would fall to pieces.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hsdfsdhs 250 hits y'all, i'm over the flippin moon<br/>as always, comments of any kind are more than welcome :)))</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments, criticisms, any feedback always welcome, i thrive off of evaluation</p></blockquote></div></div>
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